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REVIEW
Excitebots: Trick Racing

Racing games have always been easy to enjoy. The formula is simple enough for most people to grasp: Race against the clock, or other players, and be the first to cross the finish line. The genre’s been around about as long as gaming has, and it has always been evolving. With Excitebike, Nintendo brought high jumps, stunts, and wipe outs to the forefront, placing as much emphasis on tricks as on the racing itself. In some cases, winning the race came secondary to pulling off sweet stunts on the little, pixelated bikes – and even though it sucked when it happened to you, the wipe outs were always entertaining.

Nintendo’s decision to bring back the Excite series via the Wii launch title Excite Truck was somewhat of an anomaly. But given the idea that Wii itself was a strange new concept, it wasn’t entirely out of place. With the benefit of nearly three years since its release, it’s plain to see that the game still holds up and in fact outshines most of the other racing titles we’ve seen for the system. The Wii Wheel was introduced with Mario Kart Wii, but going back and using it with Excite Truck brought a new appreciation for the title. Stunt racing games would never be the same.

Enter Excitebots: Trick Racing, a game which takes concepts introduced in Excite Truck and adds a plethora of new play options into the mix. This time, the Wii Wheel is included with the game, and all the activities the game asks of players are only enhanced by its usage. The most obvious change this time around, even to people who’ve never played either game, is the new vehicle types. Trucks are out. Robotic animals and insects are in. Prior to the start of the race, the robots walk towards their starting positions, then fold down into their vehicle forms. While racing, certain power-ups allow your vehicle to make use of its alternate mode. In some cases, that means running through obstactles by shaking the Wii Wheel to simulate each step while in others pulling back on the wheel simulates the experience of gliding through the air at breakneck speeds.

The game’s racing circuits feature many unique parts that allow you to gain points by performing special actions with the controller. Racers can swing like mad, looping around horizontal bars repeatedly to gain more momentum to leap across expansive cliffs. Vertical poles allow players to use the robotic arms of their vehicles to swing about and up to alternate paths through the course. To add even more amusement, within the races are minigames such soccer and bowling, which just add to the complexity of racing.

At times it’s somewhat confusing, especially on the first time playing each course. Suddenly a soccer ball is in front of you, and smashing it into a goal will result in bonus points being scored. With bowling, the ‘bot serves as the “ball” and you have to steer through the pins. These elements might seem stupid to grumpy gamers and naysayers, and indeed they sound pretty stupid in writing, but they are freaking awesome.

In-game achievements are tracked and the star points you earn from completing races can add up to free up some pretty awesome unlockable content in the form of new vehicles and vehicle colours, statues, and other great virtual prizes. The number of stars you earn per race depends on how well you place in the races, and how many stunts you perform. The game’s online component is also pretty decent, allowing you to race against random folks or use the Nintendo-standard (and much bemoaned) friend code system to race with your pals. You can even place bets and cash in on the result, helping to close the gap between you and a complete set of unlocked features.

While the main part of the game and the racing courses are a lot of fun, my favourite mode is the Poker Race, which has players racing through a course with a set of five playing cards along the bottom of the screen. Throughout the race are several card-swapping checkpoints that allow the fleet-fingered to exchange one card of their choosing (or none if they ‘lock’ their hand) to trade up to a better hand all in the name of points. An overhead display shows the cards that are coming up, and racers have to steer into the card they want to successfully perform the swap. At the end of the race, everyone’s hand is assessed and, like in poker, the player with the best hand reaps the reward. It’s pretty crazy trying to play poker while driving and it’s something you should never do in real life, but it works well in Excitebots.

Although many of the game’s visual and control aesthetics are carried over from Excite Truck, there’s one notable omission this time around: the ability to play custom music. It may be construed as negative for racers who love cruising to their own tunes, but in light of the rest of the package it’s not something that’s so detrimental as to ruin the enjoyment of the game.

Excitebots: Trick Racing is one of the best trick racing games I have ever played. It’s both simple and elegant and allows players to be a combination of stunt driver and race driver. Plus, the robots are cool. The basic premise of the game is the same as many other racing games, and yet the journey is incredibly fun thanks to all the extra elements thrown into the mix. Chances are, you will be pleasantly occupied for hours, even if you initially start up the game with the intent to play for a few minutes. So get ready for unbridled fun!

Posted in Reviews, Wii |